Tag: Florida

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Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I began writing about my trip out to the 9,000+ acre Highlands Hammock State Park here in the Sebring Florida area (about 10 miles from home).

My plan for the morning at the park was set, so it was time to go !

First setback – the 11 AM tram tour was inexplicably sold out, and I didn’t want to stick around for an additional 1 PM tour. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum was closed until 10 AM. So my next move was to drive the 3+ mile “Loop Drive” through the park.

“Loop Drive” is a one-way counter-clockwise paved road with room for one vehicle to traverse with a bike lane running alongside it. The speed limits is 15 or 20 MPH, and you don’t want to drive any faster than that because the whole idea of the road is to see things as you drive slowly by. You also want to stay safe and not endanger any wildlife along the way, or bicyclists, or visitors walking around. Nature owns the park, so it should be respected.

Once on “Loop Drive” there are 8 walking trails where you can park your vehicle, get out, and walk on. Most are between 1,400 and 3,000 feet in length (a quarter-mile to a half-mile). Some of the trails meet each other, so you can go on a longer walk by combining adjoining trails.

I’ve been on most of the trails previously. One of the last ones along the road is the Ancient Hammock Trail – at 3,005 feet in length. It’s the longest trail in the park. It’s connected to the Sweetgum Trail (1,445 feet). It’s in the oldest part of the park, and it features towering cabbage palms and live oaks – some of which may be over 1,000 years old. There’s also an old CCC bridge near the top of the trail. I selected the trail to be the one that I would get out of my car for, and walk, and explore nature and hopefully not too much wildlife. I didn’t want to encounter any wild creatures that were bigger than me.

But that’s exactly what happened. About two-thirds of the way around the trail – out of nowhere – a large wild animal crossed in front of me from left to right – running quickly like it was being chased by an even bigger creature. It was either a Florida Panther, a coyote, or a deer. I didn’t get a good look at it since it was a blur while running, but I saw a tan color all over. That was the only excitement on the trail. Other than that – the bugs were surely out. It wasn’t too bad though. I imagine that the park is saturated with bugs during our 4-month rainy season from June through September.

I got back in my car, and I headed back to the main Camp Store / CCC Museum area. What did I see upon returning to that area ? I saw 2 big yellow Highlands County School District buses !

You know what that means. I’ll tell you all about it – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography History Home Nature Photography Travel

Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. If you’re familiar with my social media work for the Sebring Historical Society – then you may remember a recent #HistoryTuesday Facebook post where I wrote about one of our true gems here in the Sebring Florida area – the 9,000+ acre Highlands Hammock State Park – established during the 1930s by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). I promoted their upcoming (at the time) 8TH Annual Earth Day Festival. Due to another scheduled event on the same day at the same time – I was unable to attend the Festival. It looked like a fun day out there at the park with some very interesting special guest speakers.

The following day on the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page I wrote about the historic CCC Museum inside Highlands Hammock State Park, and I included a photo of the building that I took on my last visit in February 2023. I visited the museum 4 times as a tourist – in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2023. During those 3 earlier visits I had envisioned myself serving at the CCC Museum as a docent. By 2023 – I had already committed to serving with the Sebring Historical Society in the same capacity. I don’t regret my decision at all.

Earlier that same week my Pastor took his family to Highlands Hammock State Park, and he posted some nice photos on his Facebook page. A couple of days later one of our members at the Sebring Historical Society told us all about her fun trip to the park with her husband and their daughter visiting from up north. They took the tram tour, and they had a wonderful time on it.

And that got me wondering. Why have I not even visited the park once since I’ve lived here over the past 3 years and 1 month ?

Well the answer is quite simple. The Sebring Historical Society keeps me busy. As does my home church. As does my home and neighborhood.

Anyway I got excited about visiting Highlands Hammock State Park for the first time as a local. (The park attracts up to 200,000 visitors annually, and I’m guessing that more than half are tourists from outside of the local area.)

I planned my day at the park. I’d leave home by 9 AM, arrive at the park 20 minutes later, pay my $4 admission at the gate, head straight for the Camp Store, buy my $15 ticket for the 11 AM tram tour, and then head over to the CCC Museum to check it out for a good solid hour until about 15 minutes before the start of the tram tour. After the approximately 1-hour and 15-minute tram tour I’d drive the 3-mile-plus / one-way Loop Drive through the park and stop at one of the trails that I’m not sure I’ve previously been on.

That was the plan alright. Let’s go !

So I went on a Friday 4 weeks ago. I arrived at the empty parking lot of the Camp Store, and (luckily) it was open. I walked in, and I asked about the 11 AM tram tour. I figured that the guy behind the counter would tell me that I was the first person to sign-up for it, and if he didn’t get a minimum of (whatever number) to sign-up for it then it would be cancelled. That’s not what he told me. He told me that it was sold out !

I’m silently thinking – how can it be sold out when I’m the only visitor within eyesight ? From what I understood – you can’t sign-up for the tram tour until the same day. (I later discovered that you can sign-up one day prior. Had I known that then I would’ve signed-up one day prior !)

He said that he’d be adding an additional 1 PM tram tour, but I declined. I couldn’t see myself being at the park until 1 PM. I looked around the Camp Store for a few minutes. They actually have some very nice souvenirs there. I actually wish that we sold some of those souvenirs in our own gift shop at the Sebring Historical Society. #MentalNotes

I went out to my car to plot my next move – since the CCC Museum was still closed until 10 AM. (They had recently switched from their 9 AM to 5 PM winter “peak season” hours to their 10 AM to 2 PM weekends-only – including Fridays – “low season” hours.)

My next move is revealed – next – #TravelThursday. And speaking of moves – what was that wild creature that ran right in front of me ? Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography Travel

Driving Miles

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is one of those change-of-pace posts in-between multiple-week series. It’s really more for me. It’s one of those fun and nerdy posts that I like to do occasionally that’s mostly based on my extensive data entries via Excel spreadsheet (my favorite toy). Maybe you’ll find it interesting. It does have to do with travel, but it’s more numbers-based rather than places-based.

So far this year (as of April 30TH 2026) I’ve driven a little over 1,550 miles. The year is now one-third done. Extrapolated over the course of the entire year – I should have accumulated around 4,650 miles by New Year’s Eve. That would actually be above my forecast of a few months ago of “probably less than 4,000 miles”.

I asked Google – Is 4,650 miles of driving a year average. (Of course I already knew the answer, but I needed a good chuckle.) I got it:

No – 4,650 miles of driving per year is not average. It is considered very low mileage. The average American drives significantly more – with estimates typically falling between 13,000 and 14,500 miles annually. Your total is well below typical benchmarks used for car insurance – where 10,000 miles or less is often classified as “low mileage”.

Context: While 4,650 is very low compared to the U.S. average – it might be typical for city dwellers, retirees, or remote workers who rarely commute.

Google AI so knows me; although, I tend to think that our nation’s average driver racks-up well over 15,000 miles per year – maybe even closer to 20,000 miles per year with the growing popularity of outlying suburbs and exurbs.

January and February continued my recent trend of driving less than 300 miles a month. And then March occurred. I unexpectedly went on a 5-day / 420-mile road-trip to and from South Florida (which I documented for 4 weeks here on #TravelThursday last month.) That pushed my mileage for the month up to 708 miles. That was higher than all but 2 of the previous 16 months.

My April mileage was a little bit higher than I expected, as it was the 2ND-highest month over the past 7 months. I unexpectedly drove 317 miles last month. That was elevated due to an early-month trip to and from Lake Wales – one of those exurbs that I noted earlier. It’s about 50 miles from Orlando and about 60 miles from Tampa. Many residents of Lake Wales regularly commute to and from either city.

Fun Facts: I briefly considered Lake Wales as my new retirement home about a decade ago, but I removed it from consideration early on due to the rush hour traffic that I saw heading out of Orlando, down I-4, and down U.S. 27 towards Lake Wales. It is now experiencing rapid growth with perhaps 10,000+ new homes under construction or being planned.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll take you to the local area Florida State Park. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography Home Travel

The Road To Clewiston

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is Part 4 of my look back at my recent trip back to South Florida – my former home of 35+ years. It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

Last week I wrote about my Wednesday with my brother – starting at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise – continuing at Fuddruckers in Pembroke Pines – and finishing at Tate’s Comics + Toys + More in Lauderhill.

Early on Thursday March 26TH 2026 – me and my brother wished each other safe travels. He was headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (#FLL) for his return flight back to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW).

I was headed south along Hiatus Road, and then west along Oakland Park Boulevard, and then south along Flamingo Road, and then west and south along Panther Parkway / NW 136TH Avenue, and then west along Florida State Road 84, and then onto a tiny piece of I-75, and then finally north onto U.S. 27.

I arrived in “America’s Sweetest Town” – Clewiston – at around 9:20 AM, and I headed straight for the Clewiston Museum – right along U.S. 27. (Its right side faces the highway, and its front side faces Central Avenue.)

This was my 2ND visit to their museum. My 1ST visit occurred on October 21ST 2021 while I was driving through on my way from Homestead to Tampa to attend a concert. The 40-year-old museum was closed for several weeks of renovations in August and September 2024, and I’ve wanted to check it out again ever since then. They are open 5 days a week – Mondays to Fridays – from 9 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (50+), and $5 for children and students. Upon entry I had a very nice conversation with Rosie at the front desk. She was going to do me a favor and give me the senior discount, and then I informed her that I’m 59 anyway. She was astonished. She said I looked like I was in my “mid-40s”. I’ll look for Rosie again on my next visit. I’ll also hope to meet the Director of the museum to share ideas with each other.

Next stop – Arby’s at Love’s near Moore Haven – my favorite rest stop about 1 hour and 15 minutes from home. I watched this truck stop / gas station / convenience store / restaurant being built as I drove by 4 times in September and October 2016 and February 2017. I knew back then that I would be a future customer of their fuel, food, and bathrooms. They opened in March 2017, and I’ve been a regular customer almost every time I’ve driven through the area. From my former home to my current home (northward) it’s at almost exactly the two-thirds point of that drive.

I returned home at 12:36 PM EDT on that Thursday March 26TH 2026, and my 420-mile road-trip was complete. It was my longest stay in South Florida since the week I retired 25 months earlier. It was my first multi-night stay in Homestead / Florida City since December 2024.

I figured I would write 2 parts for this #TravelThursday series, but once I got going writing it – I wanted to include more material. It expanded to 3 parts, and then (of course) 4 parts. I enjoyed writing this series, but even more important – I loved being able to hang out with members of my former home church family, former coworker friends, and definitely my brother of 51 years in West Broward.

This was a great road-trip that I’ll remember for years to come – especially since I’ve documented much of it here over the past 4 weeks.

Next #TravelThursday – I’m going on a cruise. I’ll reveal where I’m going. It’s not where you may think. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp